Mail treating machine



Jan. 25, 1938. c. D. RYAN MAIL TREATING MACHINE Filed April 26. 1955 .Hill

. 7 Sheets-Sheet l 3mm a Commodore Ryan Jan. 25, 1938.

c. D. RYAN y MAIL TREATING MACHINE Filed April 26, 1935 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan. 25, 1938. C. D. RYAN MAIL TREATING MACHINE Filed April 26, 1935 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 g won/fom Com modor@ @an www www RN Jan. 25, 1938. c. D. RYAN MAIL TREATING MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April 26,* 1935 Commodor@ Qyazz SHOM/w45 A 11111.25, 193s. Y f BRYAN 2,106,191

MAIL TREATING MACHINE Jan. 25, 1938. I C, Q RYAN 2,106,191

MAIL TREATING MACHINE Filed April 26, 1935 '7 Sheets-Sheet 6 z 5 I 226 7\9 il 97 v I 7@ az 105 ./@12 Je 08 106 .108 63 64 i Y I zo? 5I 7a 6I 3f 34 l Jan. '25, 193s. 'D, RYAN 2,106,191

` MAIL TREATINGl MACHINE Filed April 26, 1935 v '7 Sheets-Sheet 7 31m/vento@ Commndore D. Ryan ed to the purposes of sealing envelopes, printing postage stamps upon mail matter, or for other printing jobs such, for example, as the printing of signatures upon checks. In other words, by actuating the moistening device to its inactive position and replacing the postage printing meter with an appropriate printing head, the characteristic signature of an authorized official may be automatically printed upon payroll, dividend or other checks issued in great numbers.

To extend the utility of the power plant, I propose to provide a unit comparable to the postage meter which, like the meter, may be mounted upon the power plant and driven thereby for opening mail matter.

Thus, by the use of my attachment, the power plant may not only be used for sealing envelopes and printing postage stamps thereon but also may be effectively used for automatically opening envelopes and thereby greatly extending the utility of the machine.

A further accomplishment has been in providing an envelope opening device which requires but a few minor changes to be made in the power plant in order to enable this unit to be easily, quickly and operatively attached thereto.

The improved envelope iiap moistening device has been incorporated in the power plant and, as these structures are fully illustrated and described in the Finfrock patent and application referred to, a full description thereof will not be repeated, however, the additions and changes necessary for the mounting of the envelope opening device will be described in detail.

Power plant The power plant 2li is preferably organized into a compact unit, in which practically all of the driving mechanism 2l is enclosed.

Mounted upon the front left hand corner of the power plant (Figure l) is a magazine 22 into which envelopes or other articles to be treated may be piled.

A feed conveyor 23 located across the front of the power plant is provided for removing envelopes or other articles, one at a time, from the magazine and conveying these articles past the envelope moistening device 24 and then presents the articles to the attachment for action thereon and finally operates to eject the articles from the machine. The attachment in this case, as shown in the drawings, includes an envelope opening device 25. It is believed that a description of the envelope opening device at this point will assist in a clearer understanding of the invention.

Envelope opening device The envelope opening device 25 is built upon and around a base casting 25 (Figures 2, 3 and e). The base casting includes a more or less rectangular portion 2 adapted to be mounted upon the power plant attachment platform 28 (Figures 2, 3 and 4) in a manner to be described. The forward right hand corner (Figures 2 and 3) of the base casting is provided with a bracket 29 to which bracket the cutter discs housing 38 is fastened as by means of screws 3l. If preferred, however, this housing may be cast integral with the base. The rear end of the base casting is provided with two small angle brackets 32 and 33. A rear end wall 34 may be fastened to these brackets by screw means 35. Adjacent the left hand front corner the base casting is provided with an angle bracket 36 while adjacent the front right hand corner the base casting is provided with the bracket 3l which is cast as a part of bracket 29. The front end wall 38 is fastened to brackets 36 and 31 by screws 39.

As may be noted in Figure 2, the front face of the housing 3i! is flush with the rear face of the front end wall 38 and is securely fastened thereto in a manner later to be described. This arrangement is advantageous in that the front wall will be braced at its far side by the housing 30.

Just ahead of brackets 36 and 37 the base casting is provided with a depending ange 4D (Figure 4). A bottom plate 4l is fastened along the bottom edge of flange @il by means of screws 42. The bottom plate is bent upwardly at each end vto form the bottom and side wall of the conveyor compartment 43. A plate 44 for closing the front side of the conveyor compartment may be fastened at one of its lower corners to flange 43 as by means of the spacci' piece 45 and screws 46 (Figure 4) while its other corner may be fastened to the intermediate wall 41 as by means of spacer i8 and screws 49 (Figure 6). The top surface of the conveyor compartment is closed by a deck plate 50 which is fastened in place by a number of brackets 5| and screws 52. The intermediate wall 4'! is braced from the cutter discs housing 3G by means of spacers 53 and screws 54 (Figure 2). wardly of the front wall 313 and extends from adjacent one side of the base casting out slightly beyond housing 30, the bottom plate 4i is made suiciently wide to form a bottom and partial side closure for the space between the front plate '14 of the conveyor compartment 43 and the intermediate wall 4l' (Figures 3 6). A cover plate 55 formed to the contour of the front and rear walls and the front and intermediate walls so as to nicely enclose the interior of the opener may f be fastened along each side of the base casting as by means of screws 56 while the end of the narrow portion which follows the contour of the front and intermediate walls may be fastened to the upturned end of the bottom plate 4l screw 57 (Figure 3). The upper ends of the front and rear walls may be connected by a brace member 58 which is fastened to each plate by screws 5G.

A handle 60 may be provided for conveniencey in placing or removing the opener from the power plant.

The opener is provided with two cooperating cutter disc Wheels El and 62 which are operative for trimming a narrow strip from the edge of the envelopes conveyed therepast and in this way opening the envelopes to permit the contents to be removed therefrom.

The cutter disc wheels are mounted in the housing 3D and for this purpose the housing is provided with a pair of spaced bearings 63 and 64. Only one of the cutter wheels is power driven, which in this case is the lower wheel 6l.

The power driven wheel 6l (Figure 6) is mounted upon a more or less cup shaped hub G5 by means of the flanged nut 66, which nut is screw threaded upon shaft 61 and through the diagonal conveyor pulley 68 forces the cutter disc 6I securely against the annular ange 69 of hub 65.

The flanged nut 66 may also act through its clamping effect upon the cutter disc 6| to securely clamp hub against the shoulder 'l0 of shaft 61.

As may be observed in Figure 6, hub 65 is provided with a cylindrical portion 1l projecting from the annular flange 69 and cooperating with As the intermediate wall 4T is spaced reara similar cylindrical portion l2 formed on the. housing 3G to prevent the envelope trimmings from working into the space formed between housing 38 and hub 55. The shaft @l is rotatably mounted in bearing 63.

The rear face of cutter disc Si is substantially' perpendicular to the axis of its rotation and beveled from its front face sufficiently to provide a relatively sharp peripheral The upper cutter disc 62 is provided with a substantially flat front face which is adapted at its lower edge to engage the upper edge of the rear face of the lower cutter disc and to 'this form a rotary shear, and to be driven thereby.

The upper cutter disc t2 may be fastened upon one end of shaft 13, which shaft is rotatably and slidably mounted in the housing bearing fill. Means are provided for yieldingly urging shaft 13 together with its cutter disc S2 forwardly so as to maintain the upper cutter disc in shearing relation with the lower cutter disc. rl'hese means may include a compression spring M mounted within a counterbored portion of shaft 'i3 so as to, at one end, act against the shaft while its opposite end acts against the housing through a spring follower l5, center it, which is mounted in plug ll, in turn screw threaded into the end of the housing bearing 54.

The power plant is provided with means for sealing envelopes, which means is indicated at When the letter opening attachment 25 is placed upon the power plant, the machine may still be used for sealing envelopes. However, as it will be well appreciated, the envelope opening means must be rendered inoperative during the sealing operation or otherwise the newly sealed envelopes will be cut open by the cutters; and for this purpose a guard plate 'lil is provided. The guard plate may be made of relatively light material in order that it may be flexed by suitable control means to guide the envelopes clear of the cutter discs 5l and 52. The guard plate may be 'fastened to the front wall 38 of the attachment by suitable screw means 'la illustrated most clearly in Figures l2 and 15. The free end of the guard plate eX- tends adjacent to the peripheries of the cutting disc wheels t! and t2 and this end of the plate is provided with an adjusting means Si? (Figures 1, 2, l2, 14, 15 and 16). The adjusting means may include a vertical shaft 3l journaled in cas'- ing 85 and having at its lower end an eccentric pin B2 arranged to engage an appropriate slot 83 formed in the upper hanged portion 8d of the guard plate. While the upper end of the vertical. shaft may be provided with an actuating handle Sla and the casing with index c pi-ovided with appropriate indicating symbols, such as "Off to indicate when the plate has been positioned so as to guide envelopes clear of the cutting means; with L which indicates that the plate is located in position to guide the envelopes to the cutting means to take a light cut therefrom; M for a medium cut; and E for a heavy cut.

As previously stated, the guard plate 'lli is of thin material and sufliciently flexible to he easily swung from its full Off to its maximum cutting position. In order to at all times maintain the flanged portion 3d in engagement with eccentric pin 5.32 of the adjusting means, any form of suitable spring means may be provided. One form of such means is illustrated in Figure 14 and may include a pin 18a fastened to the plate and extending rearwardly therefrom through the front wall 38 of the attachment housing. The

end of this pin is threaded to receive a nut 78h and washer 18e. Acting between the inner face of wall 3d and washer 13o is a compression spring 18d which acts to yieldingly urge the guard plate l@ into its retracted position as illustrated in this figure, in which position it will guide the envelopes into the cutting means to take therefrom a maximum cut.

The lower cutter disc Sl is for the most part inclosed within the conveyor compartment and for the purpose of inclosing the upper cutter disc 62 a casing 85 is mounted upon the front end wall 38 and is of such shape as to nicely cover the cutter disc above the shearing portion of the discs. lower edge of casing 85 and the conveyor com partment deck plate 5t to enable envelopes to be fed along the guide surface to the discs. The right hand end of casing 85 is securely mounted upon the front wall as by screw means 8l, which screw passes freely through the wall and is screw threaded into the cutter disc housing 33 and in this way securely clamps the front wall between A space 86 (Figure 6) is left between the.

lil

the casing and housing. The other end of casing 85 may be fastened directly to the front wall-y by screw means 88.

A diagonal conveyor means 89 is. provided to .insure that each envelope under treatment will be moved into correct register with the guiding surface of guard plate TQ. veyor means may include two spaced pulleys.

The diagonal conveyor pulley 53 is, as has been previously pointed out, mounted upon hub between cutter disc 6l and the flanged nut Sii. spaced from pulley d8 and is angularly positioned with relation thereto (Figures 2 and 4). The second conveyor pulley Sill may be freely journaled upon the stub shaft Bl, which shaft is suitably fastened to the angle bracket Si cast integra-l with the base casting 25.

An endless round belt @3 travels around the two pulleys. The upper run of belt 93 lies for the most part above deck plate and as may be noted from Figure 2, is angularly related to the guiding surface of the front end wall 33. By this arrangement of the diagonal conveyor belt, each envelope presented to it by the feed conveyor of the power plant will be moved sideways until its adjacent edge will be moved into parallel engagement with the guiding surface, to thereby insure trimming a ,strip of uniform. width from the full length of each envelope under treatment. The diagonal or second conveyor as it may be called, also assists in. positively propelling the: :.f

envelopes past the cutting discs.

A shoe 9d may ie mounted directly above the diagonal conveyor so as to provide a backing for` the upper surface of the round belt To render shoe more efective in its cooperative relation with the belt it may be provided with a concaved surface $5 ext nding the full-length of the shoe. lit will be understood that the shoe does not engage the belt but acts as a support against which the envelopes will be pressed by the conveyor.

The diagonal conj The second diagonal conveyor pulley 9i] is.' l

the pivot screws Il. The shoe 94 is yieldably mounted to accommodate envelopes of different thicknesses, and for this purpose the spindles are reduced in diameter for a portion of their length to form Shanks |82 to receive springs 03, while the upper ends of the spindle bores |94 are also reduced in diameter to slidably pass the spindle Shanks and to form shoulders against which the other ends of springs |83 may engage. The upper ends of the spindle shanks are threaded to receive adjusting nuts |65, which nuts engage the upper surfaces of bosses Si to independently position the ends ci the shoe with relation to the round conveyor belt. By this arrangement the ends of the shoe may lift independently as envelopes of different thicknesses pass through the machine, and the shoe will yieldingly resist this lifting action due to springs |03.

Means are provided for directing the envelopes between the cutter discs, which means may include the two superimposed leaf springs |86 and lii's (Figure l2). Both of these springs are positioned between the front face of the front end wall 33 and the adjacent side of the diagonal conveyor belt 93. The springs may be fastened to the deck plate 5|) as by means of rivets lili.

Guide spring |86 may be formed to rise more or less gradually from the plane of the deck plate and to extend practically parallel to the ydeck at a height corresponding to the shearing point formed at the intersecting point of the cutter discs. The lower spring Il may be likewise formed and arranged to reinforce the free end of guide spring M6 as is clearly shown in Figure l2.

As a further guide for the envelopes, the end of the guide plate i8 adjacent the cutting discs may be flanged as at m9 (Figure l2) The lower critter disc El is power driven from the power plant driving mechanism. For this purpose the lower cutter disc shaft Gl' is provided with a small pulley lil which is fastened to the shaft by a set screw IlB. By means of belt H9 the small pulley is driven from the relatively large' pulley Si fastened upon drive shaft l2l. The drive shaft is journaled in suitable bearings |22 carried by the end walls 34 and 38, and at its extreme rear end is fastened a grooved coupling member 23 which cooperates with the tongued coupling member |24 of the attachment shaft of the power plant to provide a driving connection to the power plant driving mechanism. The coupling members |23 and |24 are readily connected and disconnected as the envelope opening device is mounted upon or removed from the power plant attachment platform. To correctly position the opener upon the platform and to thereby insure a correct alignment of the coupiing members, the platform is provided with two spaced locating holes 25, while the base casting of the opener is provided with two depending cylindrical lugs |26 and i2? which are adapted to project into the locating holes as the opener is lowered into position. The rear lug |27 is made suiiiciently long so as to act as a leg for supporting the rear end of the opener when it is removed from the power plant.

Means are provide-d for locking the opener onto the power plant, which means may include providing each of the lugs |355 and E2? with an annular groove y|28 into which the hooked ends |29 of the locking lever 38 are adapted to be swung, note Figures 2 and 3.

Power plant driving mechanism The power plant driving mechanism is the ysame as disclosed in the stated Finfrock patent and application and includes briey an electric motor ll arranged to drive the line shaft |32 by means of pulleys 33, 36, and belt |35. The feed conveyor 23 is normally connected to the line shaft by a conveyor clutch |36, while the attachment driving shaft #Sil is operatively conneotable with the line shaft by means of an attachment ciutch The attachment clutch |38 is normaily maintained disengaged and is provided with a'trlpping mechanism |39 operable for placing the clutch in driving engagement. The tripping mechanism is arranged to automatically disengage the clutch after it has compieted a single revolution.

The conveyor clutch |36 is normally maintained in driving engagement with the drivingl mechanism and will be, through the operation of a conveyor clutch control means lll, automatically disconnected for substantially the entire operating cycle oi' the attachment clutch. In other words, the conveyor ation must be changed to operate the opening device to which envelopes should be continuously i ed while the cutter discs are being continuously driven.

A setting means Mil is provided for retaining the conveyor and attachment clutch controlling means actuated and thereby for maintaining the conveyor and attachment clutches in constant driving engagement during the operation of the. A separate setting may be provided for two control means to insure the proper driving.

condition for the envelope feed conveyor and the cuter discs of the opener.

Setting means The actuating portion of the setting means is preferably mounted in the opener and may in- -f'iudc the tr lnsverse shaft M2 journaled in standwhich standards are carried by the i base casting may be noted in Figure 3, the transverse shalt entends through both sides of the attachment cover and. has suitably fastened upon its right hand end a'setting handle M5 and upon its left hand end a locking nger it. rlhe free end of the locking nger is formed and adapted to play into the cam shaped opening Ml (Figure 2) form ed in the handle MS of the attachment locking lever In Figu e l these parts are shown in the positions they would occupy after the setting handle h d been actuated to set the opener for operation. In this figure it will be noted that the locking finger has engaged the cam slot formed in handle ifii and through its movement during the actuation of the setting handle has swung the locklever |313 into locking engagement with the annular grooves |28 formed in the opener lugs |26 and l2?, and thereby locking the opener to the attachment platform of the power plant. By this arrangement, unless the opener has been and attachment v. clutches operate alternately. This mode of opercorrectly positioned upon the attachment platform, the locking means can not be actuated to lock the opener in place. p

The setting means also actuates to maintain the attachment clutch tripping means in its clutch releasing position, whereby the attachment clutch will be maintained in constant driving engagement with power plant driving mechanism, and in this way the cutter discs will be likewise constantly driven.

The actuation of the setting means also acts to swing the conveyor clutch control means sufficiently to maintain this control means free from engagement with its attachment shaft actuating means, and thereby maintaining the conveyor clutch in constant driving engagement for continuously driving the envelope feed conveyor'.

As far as the envelope opening device is concerned, the same means is employed for actuating both the attachment clutch tripping means and the conveyor clutch control means, and includes providing the transverse shaft |42 with cam disc M19 (Figure l0), in which there is cut an eccentric cam slot |56.

A double ended lever is provided with a cani pin |52, which pin rides in the cam slot |50.

As stated, the cam slot is eccentric to the rotative center of the transverse shaft and, therefore, as the setting means is swung from its released to its setting position, the cam pin end ci' the double-ended lever will be elevated while its opposite end |53 will be depressed. The end its of the double lever fits between the bifurcated |liki of the plunger |55 and is slotted, as at |56, to form a pivotal and sliding connection with the plunger pivot pin |51. The plunger |55 is slidaoly journaled in the base casting bearing boss |5750: and when the setting means is in its retracted position the rounded nose |58 of the plunger is retracted suihciently to become substantially flush with the under surface of the base casting 2S, but when actuated to its setting position the plunger is thrust downwardly from the hase casting to its extended position, as illustrated in Figure 3. This motion of plunger |55 is made use of to actuate the power plant setting means for maintaining the conveyor and attachment clutches active.

Power plant setting means The power plant disclosed in the stated Finfrock patent and application does not include the setting means and, therefore, this means must be added thereto. For this purpose the attachinent platform Z3 may be bored, as at |59, to receive the hanged cylinder idd. A lock nut it may provided for securely locking the cylinder to the platform. It will be understood that the cylinder is positioned to be in substantial alignment with plunger |55 when the opener is mounted upon the power plant. Slidably mounted the cylinder is a piston |52 having a piston |553, which slidably passes through the bore itilformed in the otherwise closed end |65 oi the cylinder. The piston is yieldingly maintained in the upper end of the cylinder by a spring means |65, which surrounds the piston rod and acts between the lower side oi the piston and the inner face of the closed end of the cylinder. The upper face of the piston may have a depression formed therein to receive the rounded nose |53 or plunger |55. By this arrangement, the plunger is thrust downwardly during the setting operation, piston iti will be engaged and correspondingly depressed.

The downward movement of the piston operates the power plant setting means to actuate the attachment clutch tripping means to maintain its clutch continuously active. It also acts to disconnect the conveyor clutch control mechanism from the attachment drive means and to maintain the conveyor clutch continuously active. The setting means for actuating the attachment clutch tripping means will be described first.

This means may include a connecting rod |61 nivo-tally connected at one end to the free end of piston rod |63 and at its opposite end to the free end of crank arm ISB. The other end of the crank arm is fastened to one end of sleeve |69, which sleeve is journaled upon the cross shaft HEB.

Fastcned to the other end of the sleeve is an upstanding finger lll. The free end |72 of the iingcr (Figure 5) is positioned to engage the horizontally projecting pin |13 of the latch member |"|4 when it is swung in a counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 5. As the latch member is pivotally connected to the lower end of the attachment clutch tripping lever |15, the motion imparted to the latch member during the swing of nger ETH will in turn cause the tripping lever to be swung about its pivot suiilciently to rock its upper end ill clear of the free end of the attachment clutch lever |18, thus releasing the attachment clutch member |19 to complete a driving connection between the attachment driving shaft i3? and the attachment clutch pulley ISG. The attachment clutch pulley |8il may be driven from line shaft |32 by the small line shaft pulley IBI and belt means |82.

Through the mechanism just described, the actuation of the letter opener setting means will cause the plunger |55 to be thrust downwardly to in turn depress the power plant piston |52. The depression of the power plant piston will thrust downwardly its associated piston rod It* and through the connecting rod itil the free end of crank arm |68 will be rotated in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 3.

Referring to Figure 5, which is a view taken in the opposite direction to that of Figure 3, the crank arm |68 will be rotated in a counter-clockwise direction as the piston |82 is depressed during the setting operation. The motion of crank arm |63 will be transmitted through sleeve M39 to the upstanding iinger thus causing the upper end |72 of this finger to be likewise swung in a counter-clockwise direction.

The motion imparted to the free end |12 of the upstanding finger, may be utilized for swinging the tripping lever |15 free from the clutch lever |18 of the attachment clutch through its engagement with the projecting pin H3 of the tripping lever latch member |74.

Due to this arrangement, as long as the power plant piston |52 is maintained depressed, the attachment clutch tripping mechanism will be maintained in its clutch releasing position whereby the attachment clutch |38 may operate to continuously drive the letter opening device.

rThe attachment clutch tripping mechanism will be returned to its normal inoperative position as soon as the letter opener setting handle |425 is swung to its releasing position, and thereby withdrawing plunger |55 from engagement with the power plant piston I|2-which piston will return to its initial inactive position under the influence of spring |55. The return of piston |62 to its initial inactive position will also return include a control shaft lilo. Sil

the other parts of this mechanism to their initial inactive positions. The tripping lever lli will be returned to its clutch disengaging position under t ie influence of its spring means 23.

Before describing the setting means which are operable for maintaining the conveyor clutch in continuous driving operation, the conveyor clutch and its controlling mechanism will be briefly described.

. The conveyor clutch i3@ includes a driving clutch wheel Ei fastened on the forward end of line shaft |32; spaced a short distance to the side of this wheel is a driven clutch wheel |85.

As may be observed in Figure 3, a rubber-tired clutch wheel it is normally maintained in driving engagement with the peripheries of the two clutch wheels iSd-5&5. The clutch wheel E85 is swingably supported between a pair of spaced links |87 which carry at their lower ends the clutch wheel axle itil and at their upper ends are pivotally connected to the clutch lever ESE.

Control means are provided for either maintaining the rubber tired clutch wheel |7365 in driving engagement with the peripheries of the other L clutch wheels, or disengaged from the wheels so as to disconnect the driving mechanism of the power plant from the conveyor.

The conveyor clutch control means Util may The clutch lever |89 may be journaled at the forward end of the control shaft and may be yieldingly actuated in response to a turning moment of this shaft through a superimposed crank arm ESE fastened to this shaft to which the clutch lever may be yieldingly connected by means of rod i9?, which rod at its lower end may be suitably fastened to the clutch lever and intermediate of its ends may pass freely through a suitable bore provided in the crank arm.

`-will be understood that set screw The upper end of rod |92 may be provided with a pair of adjusting lock nuts 593. Surrounding the rod i2 and yieldingly acting between the crank arm and the lock nuts may be mounted a spring means |96. A set screw 95 may be screw threaded through crank arm i9! and locked in its adjusted position by a suitable lock nut for maintaining the crank arm and clutch lever spaced a predetermined distance apart when the crank arm 98| swings to release the clutch. It |95 is not fastened to lever |39.

By this construction, when shaft i90 is rotated in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 3, the crank arm I9! will be swung downwardly i until the end of the set screw |95 will engage the clutch lever |39. A further rotation of this shaft will cause the clutch lever to be likewise swung downwardly and through links Fill', will lower the rubber-tired clutch wheel free from the peripheries of the two clutch wheels, and in this way will bring about a disengagement of the conveyor clutch.

A rotation of shaft'iilil in a countercloc-.kwise direction, as viewed in this figure, will act to elevate the rubber-tired lclutch wheel into driving aoener clutch is inactive, and to automatically disconnect the conveyor clutch during each Cycle of operation of the attachment clutch, and for this purpose the forward end of the control shaft |99 is provided with cam lever |96. The free end of the cam lever may be bifurcated to operatively support between the bifurcations thereof a cam follower wheel |9'i, which wheel is adapted to follow the irregular contour of the conveyor clutch control cam |98, which cam is suitably fastened to the attachment driving shaft |33'.

In Figure 5, the conveyor clutch control cam |98.is illustrated in the position it normally assumes while the attachment clutch is maintained disengaged. In this position it will be noted, that the projection |99 of the cam is opposite the adjacent periphery of cam wheel |91.

A clockwise rotation of the control shaft l 9G, as viewed in Figure 5, will correspond to a counterclockwise rotation of this shaft as viewed in Figure 3, as these figures are taken in opposite directions and therefore during such time as the cam follower wheel |91 engages the projection |39 of the control cam, the conveyor rubberlred clutch wheel |86 will be lifted into driving engagement with the periphery of the two clutch wheels.

During the initial rotation of the attachment clutch, the cam follower wheel |91 will ride off of projection |919 onto the concentric portion 26S of the control cam, thus permitting the cam lever idd to be lifted upwardly in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 5 under the influence of its spring means 29S.

A counter-clockwise rotation of the cam lever ISES in Figure 5 will cause a clockwise rotation o-f the control shaft as viewed in Figure 3, and this clockwise rotation of shaft |99, as previously described, will lower the clutch wheel |86 free of the two clutch wheels |84, |85, to bring about a disengagement of the conveyor clutch. It may be observed in Figure 5 that the lconcentric portion Ellll extends for nearly the entire periphery of the control cam |98, and therefore during the rotating cycle of the attachment clutch, the conveyor clutch will be maintained disengaged, but as soon as the attachment clutch completes its rotation, the conveyor clutch through the means described will again be brought into driving engagement with the power plant driving mechamsm.

When the power plant is to be used for driving the letter opening attachment, it is desirable to lower the cam follower wheel i9? free from engagement with projection |39 of the control cam |98 and in this way to maintain the conveyor clutch in continuous driving engagement and to eliminate any noise which might be caused by the projection striking the cam follower wheel during each revolution of the attachment clutch shaft.

The actuation of the power plant setting means may be made use of for 4swinging the control shaft i90 in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Figure 3, which rotation of the shaft will be permitted due to the spring connection between the crank arm |$l| of the control shaft and the clutch lever |89, anclin this way the conveyor clutch will be maintained in driving engagement with the power plant driving mechanism, and due to this additional motion of the control shaft, the cam lever |96 will be lowered as illustrated in Figure 5, whereby the control cam |98 may rotate freely without striking the cam follower wheel |91 during each revolution of the attachment clutch.

rIlhe control shaft itt may be actuated from the power plant setting means by fastening to this shaft intermediate its ends, as may be noted in Figure 2, a setting lever 292, having its free end extending downwardly and bifurcated as at EDS, as may be more clearly seen in Figures l and 8. rojecting transversely across the bifurcated portion of the setting lever 2t? may be mounted a bolt 29d. The body portion of the bolt between the bifurcations of the lever may be eccentric to the center line of the bolt, and may have mounted thereon a roller 2135, against which may travel the cam end 2&6 of the rocking lever 2M. Due to the eccentric mounting of the roller 295 with relation to the center of the bolt, its position may be adjusted with relation to the cam surface 2li@ and clamped in its adjusted position by means of a suitable nut Zilli. The rocking lever 201 may be pivotally mounted to the power plant base casting by an appropriate pivot pin 299.

The end of the rocking lever Ztl opposite to its cam end 2li@ is bifurcated to straddle the connecting rod i6? and the bifurcated ends of the link are slotted as at lil@ to receive the driving pin 2H which operatively connects the rocking lever to the connecting rod.

By this construction, the rocking lever Ztl will be rocked by the setting means and as a result thereof the cam end 2F35 of the lever will engage the roller 2.@5 and thereby actuate the lever to maintain the conveyor clutch in driving engagement with the power plant driving mechanism and to remove the cam follower wheel lill? from its control cam 198.

From the above description it will be appreciated that three important functions are simultaneously performed during the operation of the letter opener setting handle U55. These functions are, viz: the locking of the opener securely in its operative position on the power plant, the actuation of the attachment clutch tripping mechanism to maintain the attachment clutch in constant engagement with the power plant driving Imechanism and to actuate the conveyor control mechanism to maintain the conveyor clutch in constant driving engagement with power plant driving mechanism and at the same time releasing the control of the conveyor clutch from the control cam of the attachment drive shaft.

As may be observed in Figures l and 2, the feed conveyor 23 is provided with a cooperating truck 2I2. The truck acts to weight the envelopes under treatment down onto the top surface of the conveyor, thereby insuring a more even and positive feed of the envelopes through the machine.

When the letter opening device is mounted on the power plant and set for operation, it is important that the rear end of truck MZ is lifted clear of the feed conveyor in order that the diagonal belt 93 may act to shift the envelopes under treatment into directing engagement with the guiding surface ci the opener. Separate may be provided for lifting and maintaining the end of the truck in its elevated position during the operation of the opener; however, in the pre-- ferred embodiment of the invention, the means for lifting and maintaining the truck elevated are preferably operated by the setting means as may be noted in Figures 2, 4 and 9. In these gures the transverse shaft il'l is provided with a crank arm 2li having located at its free end a crank pin 2m, adapted to travel in the cam slot 2l@ formed in the lifter lever 2263.

The lifter lever 22e is pivotally and slidably supported at its rear end by means of a pin and slot connection Eil to a suitable bracket 22, which bracket is suitably fastened to the opener base casting 26 as by means of screws 223. Hinged to the forward end of the lifter lever 2id is an offset finger 224, which linger is slidably mounted through a suitable slot 235 formed in the front end wall t8 of the opener.

The mechanism just described is illustrated in its retracted position in Figure 9, while in Figure i it is illustrated in its truck lifting position.

During the initial swing of the setting handle iria the crank pin 2id will travel along the cam slot 'Eid to move the lifter lever .fii'il forwardly until the hook like end 2265 `of the offset finger will ride under the truck lifting pin 22? projecting rearwardly from the rear end of the truck 2l?. At substantially this point in the operation of the setting means the crank pin ZES will reach the end of cam slot l t and the remaining movement of the setting means will act through the crank pin 2id engaging the end of cam slot 2l@ to lift the lever 226 and, because the hook shaped end 22E of the offset finger is now engaging the pin 22?, the rear end of the truck will be lifted as illustrated in Figure 4.

When the setting handle Hilti is swung tc its retracted position, the lifting lever 22e will be re turned, thereby lowering the rear truck of the conveyor to its operative position as illustrated in Figure 9.

From the above description, it will be appreciated 'that the opener may be easily, quickly and conveniently mounted upon, or removed from the power plant.

is previously stated, the power plant is provided with an envelope ilap moisting device 2li which may be turned to an op rative position wherein the flap of each envelope passing through the machine will be ai "ornatcally opened, rnoistened and closed to perform the .sealing operation on the envelopes under treatment.

The moistening device may also be turned to an olf position whereby envelopes passing through the machine will not be acted upon.

It will be appreciated that when the letter openu ing device is mounted on the power plant and operating to open envelopes, that lt would be undesirable to have envelope flap moistening device turned to its on position, in case of such an adjustment the of the previously sealed envelopes would be very liable to catch upon 'the flap opening blade ci the moistening device and to not only cause damage to the envelopes but also possible damage to the moist-ener as well to interrupt operation oi the machine.

Likewise, when the machine has been adjusted to seal the flaps of envelopes under treatment, it would be extremely undesirable for the opener to function to cut the newly sealed envelopes open.

To avoid the possibility of either of the above contingencies, a safety control moans is provided which. will automatically act to shift the guide plate it of the opener to its inoperative position when the moistening device is turned on, and which means will automatically function to reu turn the guide plate of the opener to its previous- Ey adjusted operative position when the mois-tening device is turned on".

It will be appreciated that a number ci different connecting means may be employed for placing either the moistener or opener in their the moistening tube and the flap opening bladev are moved simultaneously to or from their operative positions.

This same form of envelope flap moistening device is made use of herein.

In Figure 15 the swing frame 228 is shown yieldingly urged into operative engagement with the eccentric portion 229 of the capillary moistening tube 233 by a suitable spring means 23. In this form of the invention the motion of the swing frame 228 is made use of to actuate the guide plate ofthe opener to or from its operative positions.

The safety control mechanism may include, as illustrated in Figure 15. a connecting rod 232, which connects the end of the swing frame to the crank arm 233 of a bell crank lever 234 journaled in the power plant by means of shaft 235. A link 236 may connect the free end of arm 23Go with the crank lever 23'! of a vertically extending stub shaft 238.

As clearly illustrated in Figures 14, 15 and 16, the stub shaft may be journally mounted in the frame-work of the power plant. The upper end of the stub shaft is provided with a tongue 238@ arranged to enter a cooperating slot 239 formed in the lower end of control shaft 2139, which shaft is journaled in a bracket 2558i: formed upon the front face of the depending flange to (Fig. 16). An opening 24E is formed through the bottom plate #il to connect the coupling of the power plant stub shaft with the control shaft of the opener.

The upper end of the control shaft is provided with an eccentric pin 2li-2 cooperating with an appropriate slot 243 formed in the guide plate flange 24d.

The tongue 23Go and groove 239s are formed to turn into registration, if out of alignment, as the opening device is lowered into its operative position on the power plant. This act is clearly illustrated in Figure 16.

. An example will clearly illustrate the functioning of this control means.

Assume the opener to be operating and set to take a medium width of cut by swinging handle Sla opposite the letter M of the dial 85a. It is now desired to seal the days mail. The operative need only turn on the sealing means, which action will cause the eccentric portion 229 of the capillary tube to rock the swing frame 288. This action will, through the mechanism just previously described, turn the control shaft 24D, which will rotate its eccentric pin 262 sufficiently to engage the outer end of slot M3, and through flange 2126i move the guide plate la to its most outward position, as illustrated in Figure 16, in which position this plate will safely direct all mail matter past the cutting discs and in this simple way prevent the mail matter from being trimmed by the cutters. The mail matter is guided beyond the range of the cutters.

The outward or forward movement of the guide plate 18 will not disturb the setting of handle ill-a due to the length of slot 83, note Figure 16. When all of the mail matter has been sealed and it is again desired to remove a medium trim from other envelopes, the sealer may be returned to its off position, whereupon the control shaft 240 will be returned to its original setting and as a result thereof its eccentric pin 242 will be retracted from the end of slot 243. The guide plate will now be urged under the influence of spring ltd toward its fully retracted position but will be` arrested in this movement when the end of slot 83 engages the eccentric pin 82 of the control shaft 8l, thus retaining the plate in its formerly adjusted position.

In Figures 4 and l1 there is illustrated a modified form of the safety control means which is operable to prevent the mounting of the letter opening device onto the power plant unless the moistening device will have rst been turned to its off position.

The safety means is also operable to prevent the flap opening blade of the sealingdevice from being moved into its operative position while the letter opener is mounted on the power plant.

This means may include the connecting rod 2li? which operatively connects the swing frame 228 to the outer end of the crank arm 249.

The crank arm is fastened upon one end of the control shaft 25S whereby a movement of the swing frame will be transmitted through the connecting rod to the controlshaft. The control shaft 25@` may be journaled on the power plant by means of bearing brackets 25| while the opposite end of the control shaft may carry a lever arm 252.

When the moistening device is turned to its inoperative position, the lever arm 252 willbe rotated to its full line position, as illustrated in Figure 4, in which position the free end of this arm will be swung clear ofthe front end of the Aletter opening device whereby this device may be mounted upon the machine.

If the moistening device is turnedto its active position before the letter opening device is mounted upon the power plant, the lever arm 252will be swung toits dotted line position as illustrated in Figure 4, in which position it. will act toprevent the opener from being mounted upon the power plant.

Should anattempt be made to turn the moistening device to its operative position while the letter opener is mounted. on the power plant, the free end of lever arm 252 will strike against the iront face of the opener, thus preventing the envelope flap openingy blade from being swung into its operative position. In other words, the opener cannot be mounted upon the power plant as long as the moistening device is in its active position and once the opener has been mounted on the power plant the moistening device cannot be rendered active.

Operation The mail treating machine thus far described may be used to either seal envelopes or Vto cut previously scaled envelopes open.

When the machine is to be used for sealing envelopes, the handle 253 of the moistening device may be actuated to place the moistening device in its operative position, this actuation automatically rendering the opener inactive. Next, the motor may be placed in operation by actuating the motor circuit switch 25A (Figure 1) to drive the envelope feed conveyor and the opener. The

machine is now ready to seal the naps of envelopes which may be placed in the envelope magazine 22, from which the envelopes will be serially withdrawn by means of conveyor 23 and thereby passed over the sealing means which will act to open the flaps, moisten the gummed surface thereof, and to close the flaps into sealing relation with the body portion of the envelope. The envelope flaps are opened, moistened and closed as they are carried along by the conveyor and are nally ejected from the machine in a sealed condition.

After all of the envelopes have been sealed, the letter opening device may be placed in operation by turning handle 252i of the moistening device 2li to place the moistener out of service. The envelopes which are to be opened may be placed in the envelope magazine 22, from which they will be withdrawn one at a time and fed to the opener. The round belt 93 which due to its diagonal relation to the guiding surface of the opener will engage each envelope as it arrives and place it in directing relation to the guiding surface, thus insuring that each envelope will be guided to the cutter discs 6i and 62, which discs are rotating at relatively high speed and will trim from each envelope a strip of uniform width.

While I have illustrated preferred forms of my invention, it is to be understood that the foregoing description is for illustrative purposes only, and I do not desire to be limited by any of the details shown or described except as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. In an envelope opening machine, an envelope opening mechanism, a conveyor operable for serially feeding envelopes to the opening mechanism, means operable for directing the envelopes carried by the conveyor into shearing relation with the opening mechanism, and a control means operable for adjustably setting the said means from a non-cutting guiding position in which position envelopes guided thereby will pass clear of the cutting means to a maximum cutting position in which position a maximum width of trim will be cut from the envelopes under treatment.

2. In a mail treating machine, a powerplant including a magazine, a feed conveyor, a driving mechanism, a conveyor clutch for releasably connecting the conveyor to the driving mechanism, a normally inactive attachment driving clutch, a control means for the conveyor clutch, and a control means for the attachment clutch; a power driven envelope opening device attachable to the powerplant for opening envelopes fed thereto by the conveyor, and means operable upon the placing of the opening device upon the powerplant for simultaneously locking the device to the powerplant and for actuating the conveyor and attachment clutch control means for maintaining both of said clutches in driving engagement with the driving mechanism.

3. In a mail treating machine, a powerplant including a magazine, a feed conveyor operable for serially withdrawing envelopes from the magazine, a driving mechanism, a conveyor clutch releasably connecting the conveyor with the driving mechanism, and a normally inactive attachment clutch; a power driven envelope opening device attachable to the powerplant for opening envelopes fed thereto by the conveyor, and means operable for locking the opening device onto the machine and for placing the conveyor and attachment clutches in driving engagement with thedriving mechanism.

4. In a mail treating machine, a powerplant including an envelope magazine, a feed conveyor operable for serially withdrawing envelopes from the magazine, a truck for the conveyor, a driving mechanism, a conveyor clutch means operable for connecting the conveyor to the driving mechanism, a normally inactive attachment clutch; a power driven envelope opening device attachable to the powerplant for opening envelopes fed thereto by the conveyor, and means brought into action by the attachment of the opening device to the powerplant for rendering the conveyor and attachment clutches active and for lifting the conveyor truck free of the conveyor.

5. In a mail treating machine, a powerplant including a feed conveyor operable for serially feeding envelopes, and a truck for the conveyor; an envelope opening device attachable to the machine for opening envelopes fed thereto by the conveyor, and means brought into action by the attachment of the opening device to the powerplant for freeing the truck from the conveyor.

6. In a mail treating machine, a powerplant including a conveyor operable for serially feeding envelopes, a driving mechanism, a conveyor clutch releasably connecting the conveyor with the driving mechanism, a normally inactive attachment clutch, a conveyor clutch control means operatively responsive to the attachment clutch, and means controlling the action of the attachment clutch; an envelope opening device attachable to the powerplant for opening envelopes fed thereto by the conveyor, and means brought into action by the attachment of the opening device to the powerplant for rendering the conveyor clutch control means inoperative to release the conveyor clutch and for actuating the attachment clutch control means for maintaining the attachment clutch in driving engagement with the driving mechanism.

7. In a mail treating machine, a powerplant including a guide wall, an envelope magazine having one side in alignment with the said guide wall, and an envelope feed conveyor arranged parallel to said wall and operable for serially feeding envelopes from the magazine; a letter opening device mounted in the powerplant and having cutting means positioned a predetermined distance outwardly from the envelope engaging face of the guide wall for trimming a strip of predetermined width from the body of each of the envelopes conveyed therepast, said opening device having a guide wall in substantial alignment with the powerplant guide wall, and a conveyor means mounted in the opening device and diagonally related to the powerplant guide wall for moving the envelopes under treatment into guiding relation with said guide walls.

COMMODORE D. RYAN. 

